High Noon
by sex-intheimpala
Summary: It has been nearly twenty years since Bella had left the Olympic Peninsula with her new family. When she is forced to return, she discovers what being a vampire is really about.


Though the ten of us had spent the past two and a half years in sunny South Africa, our skin tone hadn't budged. Nothing about us had changed, or had been altered in any way.

Except for two of us.

Renesmee was now tall and thin, her bronze hair curling to her waist. My old eyes hadn't disappeared from her delightful face, which Edward never missed complimenting us both on. As she grew, she'd adopted my heart-shaped face, and even had begun to show signs of inheriting her father's wonderful smile. She sat diagonally from me, next to the narrow aisle of the plane in which we all sat, listening intently to the movie being shown overhead. She had her right hand out stretched to towards the seat beside her, filling its sleeping occupant's dreams with scenes from the age-old classic on the screen.

At first, I thought it would bother me. But after Renesmee grew into a young woman, I knew that it was inevitable that she'd notice Jacob as more than just a very good friend.

His already dark skin had darkened from the rays of the sun, making his teeth stand out like the stripes on a skunk. It had been so long since we'd left Forks, though he hadn't changed one bit. He still, after all these years with us, inched away from our scent, laughing as he did so. He had stopped growing – thank God – only shortly after we had left. His head was just inches away from punching through the bottom of the overhead compartment.

Though we all had eternal life and incredible beauty, we were all slightly gloomy. The black that we wore reminded me of real vampires – fanged, cape wearing creatures of the night.

But I was the gloomiest of all. I could hardly enjoy myself these past days, what with funeral plans and constant emails of sympathy from the friends I hardly remembered. Someone named Mike Newton … the name was blurred in the very depths of my human memory.

I tried to hide my face in my hands for the entire flight, but sensing my mood, they were forcibly torn away.

"Cheer up," Edward encouraged, taking the hand he pulled from my face and placing it in his.

I responded in the same mood, unchanged by his words. "There are easier things to do than that."

"Please, love? What happened wasn't your fault. You know it, and you might as well accept it, because it's fact."

"But I wasn't there for him!" I cried. Edward's cautious look sent me to a whisper, "He suffered, while Alice dragged me off to some antique market a hundred miles from the house! I accepted her invitation, and maybe if I hadn't, I – "

Edward silenced me by slapping his hand against my lips, "Bella, stop it." He put is hand back down on his lap.

My tearless cries continued against his words, but ended abruptly, and much sooner than I thought possible.

With much frustration, I kicked the chair in front of me with only enough force to send the person in it flying towards, but not hitting, the seat in front.

"Bella," Jasper answered, turning around to face me, "You didn't have to do that."

"Oh, but I did!" I said, leaning forward in my seat unintentionally. Edward pushed me back into my seat with slight panic. I gave him an understanding look and then turned back to Jasper. "Just let me mourn, will you?"

"I was just trying to help, Bella."

Jacob's husky voice entered the conversation, "She can't _be_ helped!"

"Shut it, Jacob! I remember a certain boy of your height that felt the exact same way six years ago!" He stared at me blankly then, struck hard by my words. I immediately regretted them.

We were all silent. Esme shot me a glance that plainly read, 'That wasn't necessary.' Emmett tried to hold back hysteria, whilst Edward turned me to face him.

"Please calm yourself, Bella. If you won't let Jasper do it, the least you can do is to spare us from your mood. And though Jacob's addition to the conversation didn't help, your comment did nothing better," he noted, obviously directing the words to Jacob as well.

To the left of Jasper, Alice turned around to talk to me after a moment of silence, "And don't worry, Bella. You'll have plenty of time for mourning later."

"Why does that make me feel so much happier?" I questioned sarcastically, sinking back into my seat. I turned onto my left side to reach over and stroke Edward's hand.

These past few months, it took hardly any concentration to open my mind to Edward. I continued practicing after Kate had left for Denali, and then was forced to show her my skill each time she visited.

If I relaxed, and applied just a little pressure with my hands, a hole was created in the surface of my shield. I did this often to make it easier, though I had to be careful. Sometimes, when I'm not paying attention, my mind has slipped, and Edward has intercepted thoughts that I hadn't meant for him to hear.

So I opened my mind to him, showing him the grief I felt. How distraught I was, how guilty I felt, plus thousands of other things that made up my gray mood.

As I slowly closed my shield, Edward turned to me, "Oh, Bella. I am so sorry. If only I could help you through this…"

"Why can't you?" My eyes were sad.

He sighed, "This has to be done by yourself, Bella. There is no other way to truly accept the passing of one you care for than to do it by believing in yourself, and not in anyone else to do it for you."

I closed my eyes, betrayal etched across my face, "I see."

"Bella, Bella, no!" he cried, bringing my face to face his with his grip on my chin. "That's not even remotely close to what I meant! Of course, I would help you. If I could." He gestured with his hands cautiously, "We all know how it feels to lose greatly, and there are many ways with dealing with it. But we've all gone through it, and we all know that doing it independently is the best way to forget."

"But, I don't _want_ to forget, Edward. I want to remember him for eternity… how wonderful he was to me …"

"And you will, Bella." he insisted. "But you cannot suffer this way anymore. You have all eternity to be happy, but you've limited yourself to thirty-four years of it! I promise, I will be here for you forever, and last time I checked, forever doesn't ever plan on ending. I said it would be best if you did this alone, but that in no way means that I'll be isolating you in a deep cave for any period of time. But we cannot do this for you. We will stand by you in your time of need, but the learning? That is for _you."_

I could do nothing now but stare into his eyes, let mine pour into his. I could hear very well the pilot announce in to the microphone, "Please fasten your seat belts, we are preparing to land." I swallowed to interrupt the awkward silence, and turned away from his watchful gaze. I sat ever so still, not even moving a millimeter as the plane landed.

The other passengers gathered their carry-ons much to slowly, eyeing the dazzling ones in the back of the plane. To lighten my mood, Edward leaned towards me and whispered to me in a voice that no human could possibly hear, "They're all thinking the same thing. Why aren't they getting up? Have they realized that the plane has landed?" The passengers all left the plane through the door up front.

I smiled faintly, but Edward knew that I was nowhere near happiness. Without moving me, he moved gracefully and swiftly to lean in front of me, and pressed his lips to mine. My eyes closed on reflex, and, for the first time in nearly a decade, his lips guided mine through the fog. This moment brought back memories, clouded by a blurry mist. When blood rushed through my veins to wherever Edward's skin touched mine, to the times when our kisses were brief and limited.

But I couldn't hold myself any longer. I dropped all emotion like my older self would a volleyball, and tore away from the seat in which I sat. I was opening the overhead compartment before I knew it, and seconds later, I was being followed down the narrow aisle, Edward half jogging to keep up.

"Bella," he called, and he grabbed me by arm. I turned to face him, but his expression of sorrow was too much for me too bear. My hand release the handle of my small duffle bag, and I threw my white arms around his neck.

"Oh, Edward! I can't do this! We need to go back!"

"Bella, you can do this." Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jacob and Nessie all faced me with indubitable support.

Carlisle agreed with his son, "Yes, Bella. You have the power to succeed, but to do so, you need to move forward."

I returned my gaze to my husband. He stared me in the eyes with complete meaning, "Trust us, will you?"

I swallowed again, and nodded. "I can do this."

Edward smiled, and leaned in to kiss me softly. He took my hands from around his neck and held them in his. "Yes, Bella. You can."

His angel face was without a single doubt as truthful as his words. My lips formed a slight smile, and we continued hand-in-hand towards the exit of the plane.

But my short few seconds of happiness were cut off as I stared out the plane door.

Forks.


End file.
